A 43-year-old former Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) officer collapsed at his workplace and died from a heart attack.
Robin Chua, who left SAF less than a year ago to join his family business as an engineer, fainted at work on Sunday (Apr. 28) and passed away en route to hospital in an ambulance.
Chua had attained the rank of lieutenant colonel during his time in the army.
He was said to have been "fit and strong" and his death came as a shock to friends and family.
Went into fatal coma after fainting at work: Sister
Chua's sister told Shin Min Daily News (Shin Min) that her brother had fainted at around 2pm while working at their family's company.
A company employee performed cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on him and was able to bring Chua back to consciousness.
Other onlookers called an ambulance for him.
However, on the way to the hospital, Chua fell into a coma and medical staff were unable to resuscitate him.
He was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.
Doctors said the cause of death was cardiac arrest.
'He's always been fit and strong': Army friend
Chua's sister shared that Chua was a responsible family man.
"He was a good son and brother, always valuing and taking care of the family. Whenever an issue arose at home, he would be the first one to try and fix it," she said.
A friend of Chua's from the military told Shin Min that Chua's death came as a shock.
"He's always been fit and strong, so we didn't expect that he would suddenly collapse just like that," said the friend, surnamed Tang (transliterated from Mandarin).
He added that Chua had served in the SAF for more than 20 years.
While Chua's sister pointed out that their family did not have a history of heart disease, other family members indicated the deceased previously had a smoking habit.
According to The Singapore Army Facebook page, one of Chua's appointments was commanding officer for the 24th Battalion of the Singapore Artillery.
He also received a commendation medal for his service in the military, at the 2021 National Day Awards.
Tribute
Chua's wife, Ferlina Ahmad, shared a tribute to her late husband in a Facebook post on Apr. 29.
She wrote that she had always deeply admired Chua's qualities of "hard work, determination, and resilience" and that he had a "spirit of adventure".
"He will forever hold a special place in my heart, and I am grateful for the love we shared," she wrote.
Chua's wake was held at Woodlands Memorial on Monday (Apr. 29).
Top image from The Singapore Army / Facebook